Tag: Ian Wilkes

Into Champagne Delivers ‘Brut’ Force in ‘Rising Star’-Worthy Display

Into Champagne (f, 2, Into Mischief–Bedford Land, by Speightstown) sat a trip handy to the pace, pounced when produced and galloped away from her rivals in the late stages to complete a sweep of the afternoon's 2-year-old filly maidens for her unstoppable sire at Ellis Park and earn the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction in the process.

Drawn wide for the debut, the $300,000 Keeneland September yearling showed enough speed to sit close to a good early pace and traveled strongly while traveling comfortably for Julien Leparoux. Going ominously well behind the leaders on the turn while still on hold, the bay filly pushed away from the inside part of the track, raced up three wide while under her own courage and turned it on through the final eighth of a mile to graduate by 6 3/4 convincing lengths.

The late Eugene Melnyk acquired the winner's second dam for $475,000 at the 2003 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale and raced her to seven wins from 11 starts for Todd Pletcher, including the 2006 GI Ruffian H. Melnyk sold Pool Land, then 11 years of age, to Live Oak for $900,000 in foal to Smart Strike as part of the owner's dispersal of racing stock at Fasig-Tipton February in 2013. For Charlotte Weber, Pool Land bred 2-year-old stakes winner Old Chestnut (Speightstown) before she sold to SF Bloodstock in foal to Munnings for $57,000 at Keeneland January in 2019. The winner's dam is also responsible for a yearling Not This Time filly, but unfortunately delivered a dead foal by Practical Joke this season.

A 38th 'Rising Star' for Into Mischief, Into Champagne is bred on the exact same cross responsible for the stallion's Grade I winners Mia Mischief and Mischievous Alex and on the cross over Gone West that yielded champion and Horse of the Year Authentic. Others of Into Mischief's graded winners from Speightstown dams include GII Phoenix S. and GIII Futurity S. hero Engage and G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint victor Man of Promise.

8th-Ellis, $120,000, Msw, 6-16, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:04.18, ft, 6 3/4 lengths.
INTO CHAMPAGNE, f, 2, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Bedford Land, by Speightstown
2nd Dam: Pool Land, by Silver Deputy
3rd Dam: Slew City Slicker, by Slew City Slew
Sales history: $300,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $69,600. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Six Column Stables, LLC, Randall L Bloch, Jim Gladden, Mike Davis & Michael Steele; B-Robert & Lawana Low (KY); T-Ian R Wilkes.

 

 

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Walkathon Carries the Torch for Impressive Female Lineage

Hall of Fame inductee Bayakoa (Arg) (Consultant's Bid) put Frank and Janis Whitham's racing program on the map when she won the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff in 1989 and again in 1990. Over two decades later, Bayakoa's great-granddaughter Walkathon (Twirling Candy) is carrying out her female family's accomplished legacy.

Last weekend, the 3-year-old Whitham homebred trained by Ian Wilkes got her first graded stakes win in the GIII Regret S. Still a maiden after her first four starts, Walkathon switched to the turf this spring and reeled off consecutive scores in her maiden win and in a Churchill Downs allowance before successfully stepping up in class in the Regret.

Clay Whitham, who co-manages Whitham Thoroughbreds along with his mother Janis, is based in Colorado but was able to make the trip to Louisville to celebrate the victory.

“We had pretty high expectations,” he said. “Before her debut, she had shown a lot in her works so everyone was pretty high on her. We know that Twirling Candy can get both dirt and turf runners, but he really has excelled with his turf runners. We were looking forward to getting her on the turf and as it has turned out, clearly it made a big difference.”

Consistently maintaining a roster of just 10 broodmares, Whitham Thoroughbreds has always focused on breeding to race.

Bayakoa was one of the first broodmares to join their program. The champion distaffer only produced four foals and just one, Arlucea (Broad Brush), had any success on the track. After a winning debut, Arlucea ran unplaced in her next six starts. She had better luck for the Whithams as a broodmare, however, as the dam of their 2012 GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Fort Larned (E Dubai).

Later in her broodmare career, Arlucea produced Walkabout (Stroll). The winner of the 2017 GIII Matron S. joined the Whithams' broodmare roster in 2017 and was sent to Twirling Candy for her first mating. The resulting foal, Walkathon, was an average-sized bay filly and was never a standout in her early days.

“She didn't 'wow' you necessarily,” Whitham admitted. “No one ever wants to say their foal is small, but she was probably just a notch below average. She never gave anyone any trouble and developed under the radar. She's one of those that never had any setbacks and quietly progressed through her training.”

Now a Grade III winner, Walkathon will take a short break from the starting gate after winning three races in less than two months, but Whitham said his mother already has her eye on a Grade I for their talented filly this fall.

“She is really focused on the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland,” he said. “It's a race that my mom is really excited about running in. Ian will have to figure out what he wants to do with her until then.”

Janis Whitham has already bred and raced one QEII winner. Remarkably, it's another granddaughter of Bayakoa. Affluent (Affirmed), who won the historic Keeneland contest in 2001, is out of their foundation mare's only other producing daughter Trinity Place (Strawberry Road {Aus}).

When Clay Whitham's father Frank passed away not long after Bayakoa retired from racing, his mother carried on the Whitham racing operation from her hometown of Leoti, Kansas. Today, the mother-son duo run their breeding and racing program in partnership.

“We bounce our ideas back and forth off each other,” Whitham said. “It's really helpful when you're doing matings. We've bred these mares for a number of years so you don't have to start over from scratch each year. We've put a lot of thought into what we think we want to do with them and how we think they ought to be bred.”

Whitham explained that while it is rewarding for them to see Bayakoa's legacy continue to grow, for them, it just means that their breeding philosophies are working.

“Horse racing is a family activity for us,” he explained. “For Walkathon to be connected back to Bayakoa, that was really the horse that put my parents on the map. They had confidence in keeping her and breeding her. It's really nice that the decision continues to pay dividends. Our program is primarily breed to race, so if it doesn't work, we don't really have a Plan B. When you breed to race, your decisions had better work out.”

Before Baykoa came into the picture, there was a Whitham-owned filly named Tuesday Evening (Nodouble). Three generations later, her great-granddaughter Four Graces (Majesticperfection) is yet another Whitham Thoroughbreds success. After winning  the GIII Dogwood S. and GIII Beaumont S. in 2020, Four Graces took much of her 4-year-old season off and returned to the starting gate this year. In her last start, she ran a close second in the GI Derby City Distaff S. Whitham said she will be returning to the starting gate at Churchill Downs in the coming weeks.

Four Graces is a half-sister to first-crop sire McCraken, who took the Whithams to the GI Kentucky Derby in 2017. Whitham said that they have one exciting juvenile son of McCraken who will be heading to the racetrack soon.

While the list of accomplishments for Whitham Thoroughbreds continues to grow, Whitham said that coming out on top with a long game-focused program like theirs is still a challenge.

“You've got to have some good luck and we appreciate our success, but it's still tough,” he said. “With our type of program, having some good fillies really creates value for the program. If you can get a stakes win for a filly, you've created some value for her. We're super excited to have some recent success with a few horses. We feel very fortunate.”

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Churchill to Cut Back On Usage of New Turf Course

Churchill Downs will be curtailing usage of its newly installed $10-million turf course for the remainder of the meet by capping grass races to a maximum of two per day and moving 19 races listed in condition books two and three to the main dirt track.

The news arrived Sunday in the form of a note on the overnight for the June 10 races. On Monday, Churchill's senior director of communications, Darren Rogers, explained the reasoning to TDN via email.

“We've decided it's best to limit turf racing to two races per day for the remainder of the Spring Meet (starting June 11) to allow the new turf course to continue to mature and become more robust,” Rogers wrote. “We've had good, open dialogue with the riders. The grass has been cut short to promote the continued root growth. We've had the flexibility to adjust the temporary rail positions to four different lanes. We have complete confidence it'll be more robust for additional turf racing later this year with just a little more time.”

Trainers contacted by TDN weren't exactly overjoyed to learn that grass racing would be limited. But they weren't panicking, either, and seemed to accept the short-term hassle as a tradeoff for healthier turf opportunities in the future.

“I applaud them for doing that,” said trainer Ian Wilkes, who has won two Churchill turf races from 16 starters at the current meet. “If anything, the turf hasn't quite settled in as good with this hot weather coming. I think it's great. It's fine. It's going to be a tremendous turf course, but it's just very new right now.”

Asked if he thought the reduction in grass racing was more of a course-preservation effort or a safety concern for horses and jockeys, Wilkes said, “I think it's a combination of both. Some horses are struggling over it. But you've got to take care of the course. It's smart what they're doing.”

Trainer Wesley Ward, who is stabled at Keeneland Race Course, has a 2-for-12 record with Churchill grass horses this season. He said he was “kind of bummed out” to learn of the decision.

“The majority of my barn are grass horses. And with the purses that they've giving away, you certainly want to take advantage of those big pots that they've got. And when those opportunities are limited, it's never a good thing,” Ward said.

Asked what specific problem he believes Churchill is trying to address by limiting grass racing, Ward replied, “That I can't help you with. Each and every horse that I've brought over to work and run, they all come out of the races the same way they went in. I, personally, have not had any issues. My horses have been 100% sound with that grass course. Others may not feel the same.”

Ward continued: “I'm not trying to build up [Churchill], because I utilize their grass course in the mornings, which they're very kind to let me do that. But all my horses have been perfect and I would have no problems going over this week to breeze or run on it.”

Trainer George “Rusty” Arnold II, whose 5-for-19 turf record at the current Churchill meet includes a Grade III stakes score, also indicated his horses have had “no issues” with the safety of the course.

“I've been very fortunate, won a couple of nice races on it this year,” Arnold said. “No injuries, no problems whatsoever. [The reduction] really won't bother us a lot.”

Terry Meyocks, the president and chief executive officer of the Jockeys' Guild, confirmed to TDN that Churchill had consulted with the riding colony before making the decision to cut back on turf racing, adding that he believed the jockeys had not brought up any specific safety concerns.

“It's just that it's a new turf course and needs time. [The jockeys] thought that was the best thing to do for everybody,” Meyocks said.
Churchill management had been careful not to overuse the new course from the outset of the meet that began Apr. 30. Even GI Kentucky Derby Day itself, with a 14-race card, featured only four grass races.

During the most recent racing week, Churchill carded two turf races Thursday, then three per day Friday through Sunday, all over “firm” conditions.

Wilkes said there will soon be plenty of grass options available at other tracks.

“Getting into the summer, Indiana's got grass. You've got Colonial coming up next month. Ellis is coming. There are plenty of options, plus Saratoga's coming. It's not the end of the world. You might have to wait on one horse for a few weeks, but that's not a bad thing,” Wilkes said.

Ward was similarly philosophical.

“Well, we've only got a couple of weeks until the meet's over anyway, right? If they're scrapping some of those races, I'll be utilizing the grass course at Belmont–that's where I kind of funnel in and out of,” Ward said.

Arnold said, “We run at Indiana and we have other different places we could go to. Probably going to miss a race or two. I haven't totally gone through the book to see, but when you reduce probably in the neighborhood of some [19] turf races, I'd say it's going to affect everybody equally.

“We ran last fall with no turf course,” Arnold noted, alluding to the complete closure of grass racing at last year's Churchill fall meet because of the installation of the new course.

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Twirling Candy Filly Walks All Over Regret Rivals

Walkathon got the jump on odds-on McKulick and kept finding in the lane to make the grade and stay unbeaten on gras while becoming jockey Julien Leparoux's 1000th winner at Churchill Downs.

Having finished second and fourth in her second and third starts, respectively, sprinting on the main track, Walkathon was runner-up in a rained-onto-Tapeta Gulfstream route Feb. 13. She resurfaced to graduate over the Keeneland turf Apr. 22, and was flattered when the next two finishers came back to earn their own diplomas. The Whitham homebred was coming off a first-level allowance tally going a sixteenth shorter here May 14.

Away on top from the rail, Walkathon was eventually reined in by Leparoux to sit second behind keyed-up longshot Lola Flo (Get Stormy). They crawled down the backside single file through a half in :48.46 and six furlongs in 1:12.91, and as the pacesetter dropped anchor midway around the home bend Walkathon quickly seized command. She was three or four lengths clear at the head of the stretch, and was not for catching from there.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
REGRET S.-GIII, $200,000, Churchill Downs, 6-4, 3yo, f, 1 1/8mT, 1:49.26, fm.
1–WALKATHON, 118, f, 3, by Twirling Candy
                1st Dam: Walkabout (GSW, $242,563), by Stroll
                2nd Dam: Arlucea, by Broad Brush
                3rd Dam: Bayakoa (Arg), by Consultant's Bid
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Whitham Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Ian R. Wilkes; J-Julien R. Leparoux. $122,760. Lifetime Record: 7-3-2-0, $290,341. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–McKulick (GB), 118, f, 3, Frankel (GB)–Astrelle (Ire), by Makfi (GB). (180,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Essafinaat UK Ltd (GB); T-Chad C. Brown. $39,600.
3–Beside Herself, 118, f, 3, Uncle Mo–Excited, by Giant's Causeway. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Michael B. Tabor; B-Chelston (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $19,800.
Margins: 1 1/4, 6 1/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 2.60, 0.80, 4.40.
Also Ran: Kneesnhips, Candy Raid, Lola Flo. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:

Walkathon becomes the 15th graded stakes winner for her sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}), and the third out of a mare by Stroll, who also sired the dam of talented GISW Ollie's Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}). She traces her lineage back to Janis and Frank Whitham's most noteworthy of many standout runners, with Hall of Famer Bayako (Arg) as her third dam. Fort Larned (E Dubai), these connections' 2012 GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner, is a half to Walkathon's dam, herself a winner of the GIII Matron S. over this main track in 2017. After producing Walkathon in her first mating, Walkabout lost a Mendelssohn foal and was unsuccessfully bred to Omaha Beach thereafter. She produced a colt by Nyquist Apr. 25.

 

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